Blue sky. Temperatures in the 60’s. A spring breeze which wafts the scent of blooming flowers.

Insects are out, including butterflies, their wings looking like stained glass windows, the sun glistening colors through them

Pinxster azaleas blooming on both sides of the creek, the landscape punctuated by white blackberry blossoms , fringe trees and swamp dogwoods. Rusty blackhaws, high above, blooming white clusters as large as my fist; dots of orange cross vines and American wisteria above.

Natural perfume, spring palate of colors, breeze caresses — all’s well with the world.

These are flowers which were in bloom on April 11, 2018 on Womack Creek.   The American wisteria has a much thicker cluster of blooms and it does not invade the forests as do the exotic Japanese wisteria.   There are three locations with wisteria vines, but only one of these were seen blooming.  The bloom period is short-lived when the temperatures are in the high 70’s and low 80’s.

Blue flag iris plants can be seen throughout the creek, but are not prolific bloomers, unlike the Crooked River, which connects the Ochlockonee River on the east and the Carrabelle River on the west in Tate’s Hell State Forest.  Whole stands of them bloom along the Crooked River.

One of the most eye-catching flowers are on the narrowleaf primrose plant.  Here shown with Virginia sweetspire.

Cowcreek spider lilies will be in full bloom within two weeks.  The frame on the right shows a mass of buds and one flowering spider lily.

On Womack Creek landing you will see star grass and the pineland pimpernell, both are small flowered plants and may escape your notice, but look down and you will see them.

One bush of swamp roses on the upper left branch leading to Nick’s Road campsite are beginning to bloom and spreads its fragrance before you see the roses.

In the water, spatterdock buds are opening up.

In about two weeks expect to see swamp titi, southern arrow wood, ogeche tupelos and muscadine flowers.  By early May, perseus bay and sweet bay will add a heavy fragrance to the creek.

At its peak now are swamp dogwood, swamp sweetbells, Virginia sweetspire, False indigo, candy root (at both landings) and butterweed.

The rusty haw, pinxster azaleas and fringe tree blossoms will not last in high 70 temperatures.  The cross vines may be at their end of bloom, also.

There are no exotic plants on Womack creek, unusual in Florida waterways.

See it before the pastels shades of green, pinkish green, bronze, yellow-green of spring turn into the heavier colors of summer.

Not just the leaves of the Florida maple and the Ogeche tupelo which leaves are beginning to appear.

The view of the creek is dotted with clumps of light pink, pinxster azaleas at their peak bloom.

False indigo blossoms,  It’s dominant purple bloom stalk encircles by lavender stamen.

The creek’s white flowers are at their peak bloom or beginning to bloom:  swamp sweet bells, swamp dogwood, Virginia Sweetspire, Fringe Tree, Blackberry blossoms, Yaupon, Rusty Haw and an yet to be identified flowering ground cover.

Yellow flowers, not to be missed are butterweed, located in large patches behind the immediate shoreline, candy root and a yet to be identified flower both at Nick’s Road campsite and just beginning to open, spatterdocks.

The first swamp rose is blooming — hard to say yet whether this will be a good year for these roses. There were just a few blooms on the many rose bushes throughout the creek.

But this year is definitely the year of the pinxster azaleas and the orange cross vines.  These vines are blooming profusely throughout the 3.75 mile stretch from the Womack Creek campground landing to Nick’s Road campsite.

And, if you can see those shiny purple balls of sweet-tart berries — blueberries are beginning to ripen.  A few now, but more to come.

A feast for your eyes, a tidbit for your stomach.

Certain blooms have short duration of blooms — take parsley haw.  We saw them all over the creek, just starting to bloom — more buds than fully opened blooms.  Eighteen days later, not a single bloom was seen.   We had missed the peak blooming period for this short tree.

Normally swamp jessamine have a longer duration of bloom — the vines take these blooms high up and wherever there is a spot of sun.  They were blooming when we last visited the creek — none to be seen.

And blueberry blooms, early bloomer along with the Walter’s viburnum — both are going to seed.

This is just the beginning of spring blooming season and expect to see poison ivy, swamp sweetbells, Virginia sweetspire, swamp dogwood, spatterdock.  In the trees, in the water, and on high bushes and low — many levels of blooms can be expected soon.’

And after these, more to come.